Local

Proposed drug treatment facility in Waterbury to get hearing BY MICHAEL PUFFER REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

WATERBURY -- The public may weigh in on a drug treatment center proposed for 447 Meriden Road on Jan. 30, but it appears opponents will be limited in their objections.

So far, most opponents have raised concern about the proposed location two doors down from the city's largest elementary school, or about creating more traffic in an already congested area.

However, it appears those objections aren't pertinent to the one public hearing the clinic needs to pass before launching its Waterbury location.

Even so, local officials are urging residents to speak up, whatever their concerns.

New Era Rehabilitation Center is applying for a certificate of need from the state Department of Public Health's Office of Health Care Access for an outpatient clinic offering methadone and suboxone treatment, ambulatory detoxification and outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment.

According to state staff interviewed Monday, the certificate is the one state approval needed by the clinic, which includes a public hearing.

Traffic concerns and proximity to a school are not issues considered for a certificate of need, said John Thomas, a professor at Quinnipiac University's School of Law.

Thomas said he has twice testified as an expert witness in such hearings. The certificate of need process was created about 30 years ago when there were concerns about an overabundance of medical services, including diagnostic exams, he said.

So, an arm of the Department of Public Health was empowered to consider whether there is a need for such a service, Thomas said.

"It's not about zoning. It's not about safety. It's about whether it is a need," Thomas said. "Largely, it's just a question of resources and demand."

William Gerrish, spokesman for the state health department, provided copies of applications and direction to applicable state regulations. Department staff, however, will not comment on the mechanics of the approval process with the case pending, he said.

He said New Era will require an additional state license for a substance abuse facility if it passes the certificate of need. That process does not include a public hearing, he said.

New Era would also require an inspection from the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. This process also does not include a public hearing, confirmed Mary Kate Mason, an agency spokeswoman.

As for local zoning review, don't count on it.

City Corporation Counsel Linda Wihbey and others have said there is no zoning approval required because the location previously served as a medical clinic. Wihbey said local health, fire and building codes will need to be satisfied, but these would not include public hearings.

City Hall was granted "intervenor" status in the certificate of need process last week. This allows Wihbey to submit evidence, present witnesses and cross-examine witnesses.

However, in a letter to Wihbey, state Hearing Officer Kevin Hansted stressed the city's arguments have to be confined to areas overseen by the Office of Health Care Access.

Wihbey said the city will still be able to argue the need for the facility, and examine the data being used by New Era to support its case.

She also urged any local people interested in speaking about the proposed use to take part in the hearing, whatever their concerns or comments.

Rep. Selim Noujaim, R-74th District, has been at the forefront of local resistance. On Monday, Noujaim issued a press release urging residents to turn out to the Jan. 30 hearing, at 2 p.m. at Saints Peter and Paul Church, 67 Southmayd Road.

"We need to work to keep our community safe and allow our schoolchildren to be able to transit to and from school without having to navigate through narrow and crowded streets before arriving to their classroom," Noujaim said in his release. "I understand men and women who were addicted to drugs need a place to get help, but is the best location within a few hundred feet of the most crowded elementary school in the city? Are we, as a community, willing to substitute our schoolchildren's future potential just to say we are trying to help addicts?"

Noujaim said most residents attending the hearing probably won't be prepared to argue need for these services. Still, he believed a tide of local opposition could carry the day.

"I don't think anybody in the East End will come in with facts about whether or not it is needed," Selim said. "However, public opinion always wins."

" Rat.. you know that doesn't work anymore. We need someone to blame for us doing the drugs, someone to bring us to the rehab, someone to pay for it, and them someone to blame when we relapse.

Chase School parents should ALL be there with pitch forks and torches. I don't mean it the hearing, I mean at Mike Yamin's home. Waterbury's great educator renting to a meth clinic 80 feet from a grammar school. "

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